Wall Street up on rising oil prices; Canada building permits rise; Japan wage inflation jumps; Aussies cut ASIC's budget; eyes on Orr; UST 10yr at 3.01%; oil up, gold down; NZ$1 = 69.9 USc; TWI-5 = 72.7

Here's our summary of key events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news we are facing sharply higher petrol prices as a result of the US backtracking on the international Iran deal.

Wall Street is up +1% following earnings upgrades for the oil patch.

In California, they are about to require all new homes to install rooftop solar starting in 2020.

Other American data out overnight was uneventful and uninspiring. We got data for their PPI and wholesale trade. Both sets were just slightly lower than expected.

In Canada, the value of building permits issued rose in March more than expected, up at the rate of +3.1% pa. That follows a February fall. The strength is in multi-unit dwellings, especially in Québec, and Vancouver.

And there was a bit of excitement in Japan overnight with data out showing that wages are up +2.1% in the year to March. That is double the rise that was expected, and its highest jump in 15 years. Factory wages are up +3.3% pa. Inflation? Japan? that seems an unusual combination.

There is even more excitement in Malaysia; voters have rejected their current government, electing the opposition to power.

In Australia, there are surprises in the detail of their Federal Budget. One is that regulator ASIC is getting a -7.5% funding cut from AU$346 mln to $320 mln. Staffing will fall by -30 to 1,900. It does seem odd at a time their banking inquiry will impose on them an extended workload, but it is an enormous bureaucracy and one that isn't being shown in a positive light at present.

And Standard & Poor's has affirmed Australia's AAA credit rating after that budget, but it has retained its 'Negative' outlook, basically on scepticism of the official assumptions about economic growth.

In China, they are spending about US$½ tln in their latest Five Year Plan on new passenger rail projects, mostly on high-speed rail. But reviews by Beijing of these signature projects aren't positive. Many are poorly planned and don't meet objectives and moves are underway to scale back the ambitions sharply.

We are waiting on April new loan data in China. Analysts expect a flat report but this data can often surprise which is why it is important. Regulatory interventions are a key thing to watch for, as are the 'animal spirits' of China's businesses. Bank debt is proportionately more important in their economy than just about anywhere else.

We are also turning our attention to the RBNZ May Monetary Policy Statement. No-one expects any rate change of course, but signals are important here and this is the first one by Adrian Orr as Governor. We will have full coverage at 9am and the press conference live at 10am.

The UST 10yr yield is at 3.01%. The Chinese 10yr is up to 3.72% (+2 bps) while the New Zealand equivalent is at 2.82% (up +4 bps).

Gold is at US$1,312/oz in New York, down -US4 today.

Oil prices are up sharply today more than -US$2 to over US$71/bbl in the US and over US$77/bbl for the Brent benchmark. Along with our lower exchange rate, we are going to see sharp rises at the pump soon. It will add at least 7c to New Zealand pump prices if crude oil stays at these levels. The last time they were this high was in 2014, briefly. Airfares will rise as well, no doubt, along with freight costs.

The Kiwi dollar is slightly firmer against the greenback at 69.9 USc. On the cross rates we are fairly stable however, still at 93.7 AUc and 58.9 euro cents. That puts the TWI-5 at 72.7.

Bitcoin is at US$9,304 and a gain of less than +1% since this time yesterday.

This chart is animated here. For previous users, the animation process has been updated and works better now.

The easiest place to stay up with event risk today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».